Two Britons missing after tourist boat Sea Story ‘hit by wave’ in Red Sea – live

The 144-foot two-engine Sea Story vessel was built in 2022 and is registered in Safaga, Egypt, according to the boat’s owner.

Owned by tourist company Dive pro Liveaboard, the boat has space for 36 passengers and 12 crew members including a captain, cooks, waiters and sailors.

At the time it sank, it was carrying 44 people. This included 31 tourists and 13 crew members, according to the Red Sea governornate.

It carried safety jackets in each cabin and two 25-person safety rafts, according to Dive pro Liveaboard’s website.

A surviving crew member said the boat was “hit by a wave in the middle of the night, throwing the vessel on its side”.

By Monday afternoon, it had become increasingly “unlikely that the 17 missing would be rescued after 12 hours in the water,” he said.

The boat, named Sea Story, is a 144ft vessel built in 2022. It departed from Port Ghalib on Saturday and was scheduled to return to Hurghada Marina on 29 November.

A distress signal was received at 5.30am on Monday, after which contact was lost.

The Chinese embassy in Egypt said Monday two of its nationals were “in good health” after being “rescued in the cruise ship sinking accident in the Red Sea”, Chinese state media reported.

Pawel Wronski, the Polish foreign ministry spokesman, said authorities “have information that two of the tourists may have had Polish citizenship”.

“That’s all we know about them. That’s all we can say for now,” he said. The Finnish foreign ministry confirmed one of its nationals is missing.

A surviving crew member said the boat was “hit by a wave in the middle of the night, throwing the vessel on its side”.

By Monday afternoon, it had become increasingly “unlikely that the 17 missing would be rescued after 12 hours in the water,” he said.

The boat, named Sea Story, is a 144ft vessel built in 2022. It departed from Port Ghalib on Saturday and was scheduled to return to Hurghada Marina on 29 November.

A distress signal was received at 5.30am on Monday, after which contact was lost.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”

It was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck motor yacht to sink after it departed from the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam on Monday.

But the Egyptian Meteorological Authority on Saturday warned about rough weather and large waves, advising against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday on the Red Sea.